Steel is an alloy mainly of iron ore with some carbon. Its production is a major industry in Canada, currently concentrated in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec.

Portrait of three railroad workers posing with their shovels, Stelco Steel Company of Canada, Hamilton, Ontario [e000762848]

Worker stands beside a furnace directing the pouring of molten steel into a ladle, Stelco Steel Company of Canada, Hamilton, Ontario [e000760223]

Steel is a versatile material and is used to make a variety of products, such as barrels, fasteners, structures, home appliances, vehicle parts and even food containers. Like aluminum, steel is easily recycled for reuse. Many of Canada’s steel plants make steel from scrap.

Worker uses a pyrometer to measure the temperature of molten steel at the Sorel Steel plant, Quebec [e000760214]

Semi-finished steel blooms, slabs or billets are processed into shapes by rolling or forging for commercial and industrial products. Steel was first manufactured in Canada in the 1880s. By the early 1900s, manufacturing centres were established in Hamilton and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, and Sydney, Nova Scotia. Production of steel increased during the Second World War and rapidly expanded during the postwar period.